Alaska transportation infrastructure fund: building roads, rails, airports, harbors and ferries.

• Author: Harrington, Susan
• Position: CONSTRUCTION

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The time for a dedicated fund for transportation infrastructure is long overdue. Building, maintaining, replacing and upgrading Alaska's transportation infrastructure is an expensive proposition, one that requires an investment of public funds. The federal government's deep pockets are shrinking, especially for Alaska--we are facing less money from the reds for transportation projects. Creating a dedicated transportation fund would bolster the state's transportation network while providing more opportunities for natural resources development and the flow of commerce, which in turn would help grow the overall economy and create jobs.

It is possible for state-funded projects to be completed in three years instead of the 10 years it takes for federal-funded projects. The Elmore Road Extension is one example. This is partially due to differences in requirements and sequencing. When the state picks up the tab for the whole project, separate components can be simultaneously completed, whereas federal projects are done one step at a time--no step can be taken until the previous step is completed. It's a slow hop to progress.

Not a New Idea

The idea of an Alaska Transportation Infrastructure Fund is not new and has been introduced in the Alaska Legislature several times, never making it to the governor's desk. Year after year final passage of a bill for an Alaska Transportation Infrastructure Fund eludes sponsors. Last time it stalled out in the Finance Committee.

Passage by the State House and Senate, along with the governor's autograph doesn't in itself guarantee the fund will come into existence, either. It does guarantee the people of Alaska a voice in the matter of the state's transportation infrastructure. Once legislation passes, the next step is a vote by the people to amend the Alaska Constitution to allow for the fund and provide seed money.

The way it works is much like an endowment. Projects would be financed from proceeds of the fund, which would be initiated by an amount set by the legislation--$1 billion has been proposed in the past, it may be wiser to seed it with a larger investment at this juncture. Alaska now has close to a $17 billion backlog of transportation projects, counting the road to Nome--but not all the new infrastructure the state needs to take us through the end of the century. The roads, rails, airports, harbors and ferries for the next few generations deserve to be built, need to be funded...